Shane A. Rahn, a 2011 honor graduate of Effingham County High School and vice-president of the Effingham FFA program, has been chosen as the Central Region Star in Agricultural Placement for Georgia.
Rahn earned the honor by maintaining a challenging supervised agriculture experience project through his FFA involvement. An SAE is a year-round developmental program that can be made up of multiple enterprises and activities, including entrepreneurial and/or placement enterprises, development of supplemental skills, learning activities and improvement projects impacting the student’s SAE, home, school or community.
The state Star program is designed to provide an incentive for students who have excelled. The state Star in Agriculture Placement award program recognizes the most outstanding Placement based SAE programs among all state FFA degree recipients in a given year.
Rahn’s SAE project is based on his employment at Palmetto Bluff Wildlife Management. He is responsible for plowing, planting, road maintenance, assisting with property management and overseeing wildlife habitats.
Rahn advanced to the state Star Agricultural Placement competition at the state FFA convention in Macon, where he was awarded second place in the state.
Rahn also has been recognized as the Central Region Winner for Wildlife Management Placement Proficiency for the state.
The Proficiency Award program is designed to encourage students to strengthen their supervised agriculture experience program and recognizes students for outstanding SAE programs. Proficiency awards are an outgrowth of students’ SAE enterprises and learning activities conducted outside of regular class time. Placement involves a student working for a business or a company for a salary, hourly wage or directed laboratory or unpaid hours.
Wildlife Production and Management Proficiency Placement strives to improve the availability of fish and wildlife through practices such as land and water habitat improvement, development of new land and water habitat, trapping, Fish and Wildlife departments, Forest Service, Department of Natural Resources or the stocking of fish and wild game. Wildlife, ducks, geese, quail and pheasants are eligible if used as an income enterprise.
Rahn advanced to the state competition for Wildlife Management Placement Proficiency at the state FFA convention, where he was awarded third place.
Rahn received his state FFA degree, which is the highest level of membership the Georgia Association may bestow upon a member.
This degree is designed to encourage agricultural development in a student’s education. The qualifications are such that only those students demonstrating a superior knowledge and work in agriculture-related fields are eligible.
Meredith Arrington was Rahn’s agricultural education teacher and FFA advisor at ECHS. Her interest in his SAE and her encouragement and persistence motivated him to join several different teams and enter competitions throughout high school. He also was encouraged by FFA advisors Dr. Freddie Waltz and C.J. Satterfield.
Rahn is the recipient of the National Wild Turkey Federation Scholarship, the Effingham FFA Alumni Scholarship and the Lloyd Arnsdorff Memorial Scholarship. He is also the recipient of the Georgia Hunting and Fishing Federation Scholarship for the state.
The son of Michael A. and Tracie W. Rahn of Rincon, he will be attending Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College to pursue a degree in forestry.
